Elizabeth Boyle

ELIZABETH BOYLE works as the Synergy Museum Education Fellow at the Bates College Museum of Art. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Mount St. Mary’s University with a degree in history and a minor in education. Though originally she aimed to become a secondary education teacher, she has since embraced the challenge to make education more engaging for students both inside and outside the classroom. Since her decision, she has worked at a variety of museums and educational institutions which have included the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, Liberty Science Center, Summer Institute for the Gifted, and most recently, Bates Museum of Art. She sees the STEAM Project as an interdisciplinary way to bring interactive learning into the classroom and is thankful for the opportunity to contribute to such a great resource.

Diana Iwaszkiewicz Carson

DIANA CARSON is an ELA and Science teacher at Auburn Middle School, where she has taught for the past 8 years. Over her 25 years in the classroom from Pittsburgh to Maine, Diana has taught as a Technology Integration Specialist, ELL teacher, and classroom teacher in grades 5-8. Graduating Bates College with a major in biology, she taught various science and math concepts in Carnegie Mellon’s program for gifted K-8 students. She has been actively involved in raising two spirited children while working with local institutions such as Museum L/A to create real-world “Kids as Curators” exhibits and hands-on, learning experiences for her students. Currently, she is pursuing her National Board Certification in English Language Arts for ages 11-15. After using the Thousand Words Project in her classes, she jumped at the chance to help design STEAM lessons for this new venture.

Anita Clearfield, Producer/Director/Editor/Artist

ANITA CLEARFIELD, Producer/Director/Artist, has created many award-winning independent films, documentaries and educational programs, including “Olivia Records: More Than Music,” “Vacation Nicaragua,” and “There Ought to Be a Law.” She was a staff producer/director for Maine Public Broadcasting, creating a variety of documentaries and science series. She holds an M.F.A. from Massachusetts College of Art and Design and is a practicing painter and video installation artist, whose work appears in exhibits and collections throughout the Northeast.

Pamela Cohen, Arts Educator and Filmmaker

She has taught visual arts and media arts in K-12 classrooms and at the college level for over twenty years, including most recently for Los Angeles Unified School District. She has produced social issue documentaries and educational videos on the subjects of arts education, civil rights, and human rights in the US and Latin America.

Michelle DeBlois

MICHELLE DEBLOIS is a professional educator with over 14 years experience teaching language arts, mathematics, and science in public schools. Michelle is currently teaching at Lewiston Middle School and is the Expeditionary Learning Leader for her team. She holds a M.S. in Education, a B.A. in Environmental Science, and an A.S. in Architectural Engineering. Michelle is part of the Maine Student Book Award Committee, State of Maine Literacy Team, and the Gulf Of Maine Research Institute’s Western Maine Regional Teachers Community. This year Michelle is pursuing her National Board Certification in English Language Arts for ages 11-15 and is developing a literacy app. In her spare time, she enjoys being outdoors and spending time with her two daughters.

Jennifer LaBonte

JENNIFER LABONTE has been an educator for the past 15 years. This experience includes teaching high school biology, anatomy and physiology, and AP Biology at Lewiston High School. Currently, she is an instructional coach at Lewiston Middle School, focusing on working with math and science teachers. Jennifer has a Bachelors of Science degree in Biology and a Masters degree in secondary education. She likes spending time with her family. Most of this time consists of chasing around her 15 month old son. 

Geoffrey Leighton, Producer/Director/Director of Photography/Editor/Animator

GEOFFREY LEIGHTON has over 35 year’s experience in video and multi-media production. In addition to his award-winning documentaries, commercials, and long form programming, Leighton has produced a variety of large-scale multimedia educational projects. These projects include “Explore Life!” a twenty-eight-part documentary series for Harcourt- Brace, “The Tragedy of the Commons,” an interactive curriculum for Biological Sciences Curriculum Studies, as well as “The Complete Collection of Physics Demonstrations,” a twenty-five-disc series for the National Science Foundation. He has also worked to develop teacher development material with Apple, the Lucas Foundation, Center for Collaborative Education, Classroom Connections, the City of Boston, and the Maine Learning Technology Initiative, as well as the Tech Goes Home Project in Boston and the Diploma Plus Network of schools. Leighton is an adjunct professor at the University of Southern Maine, teaching Special Effects and Animation.

Anthony Shostak, Curator of Education, Bates College Museum of Art

ANTHONY SHOSTAK, Curator of Education, Bates College Museum of Art, received his BFA in Painting and Drawing from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and has served as the Education Curator of Education at the Bates College Museum of Art since 1994.  He was lead curator on several exhibitions related to science, including Starstruck: The Fine Art of Astrophotography; Green Horizons, an interdisciplinary exhibition exploring sustainability; and The Body Holographic: Harriet Casdin-Silver; and he was programming curator for Anthropocenic: Art About the Natural World in the Human Era.  Shostak is also the author of The Thousand Words Project, the museum’s educational outreach program that teaches writing skills though an exploration of how artist create.  In his spare time, he performs on uilleann pipes and 5-string banjo.